Machine Learning COFFIES “Hears” Sunspots Before We Can See Them

-

In this age of neural net “AI”, even the most skeptical of Butlerians have to agree that these machine learning models can be very, very good at pattern recognition if nothing else. NASA is on the same page, and to take advantage of that pattern recognition, they’ve built a machine learning module called COFFIES, which stands for Consequence Of Fields and Flows in the Interior and Exterior of the Sun, because at NASA everything is an acronym, or at least a backronym. Like most such names, this one is at least vaguely descriptive: the model is trying to predict what’s going on in the material flows and magnetic fields deep within our local star, and using those inferences is able to predict active regions– that’s sunspots to us chickens — up to 12 hours before they visibly form.

The measurements used here are indirect —  we can’t chart the magnetohydrodynamic snarls deep inside a star directly, but we can measure the magnetic field and acoustic waves at and above the surface. You could say the model “hears” sunspots forming. Like all such models, it’s a bit of a black box, but heliophysicists may be able to use its predictions to help them understand their own, organic understanding of the big ball of plasma to which we all owe our lives.

This model is thus one of the better things to come out of the “AI” revolution– nobody is going to give over their thinking to the machine and stop trying to understand the Sun, and the few hours of extra warning COFFIES might potentially provide before the next Carrington Event-class geomagnetic storm could prove invaluable, especially since a flare-blocking Storm wall remains a theoretical exercise at best. If you are interested in the sun, COFFIES has an interesting YouTube channel and, as you can see in a recent video, they are doing a lot with AI.



from Blog – Hackaday https://ift.tt/JfvYTu0

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Modern Radio Receiver Architecture: From Regenerative to Direct Conversion

-
Image
Modern radio receivers have a distinct advantage over the common early designs which I covered in my previous article . Most of the receivers you will have worked with over the past couple decades are designs by Edwin Armstrong ; regenerative, superregenerative, or most commonly superheterodyne. These are distinguished by a few fascinating key traits that bring both benefits and drawbacks. Today let’s dive into Mr. Armstrong’s receivers. I’ll also talk about DC receivers which, despite the name, are not made to listen to batteries. These are receivers you are much more likely to encounter in modern equipment. Regenerative and Superregenerative The regenerative receiver is all about doing more with less. You still see some of these in simple applications like RF remote controls. The idea derives from how an oscillator works. In a simple way of thinking, an oscillator is an amplifier with enough positive feedback that any tiny signal at the right frequency will amplify and then, throu...
Get this one»

Custom Macro Keyboard Looks Good in Wood

-
Image
There’s more than one way to make a mechanical macro pad, and this wooden wonder represents one of our favorites . [Tauno Erik] had an old rubber dome rectangle keyboard lying around that still worked, but the poor thing was missing some of its caps. After salvaging the controller, [Tauno Erik] got to work on the tedious task of figuring out the mapping of the matrix, which was made easier with a Python script. Almost every component of this beauty is wood, including the mounting plate and those thicc and lovely keycaps — their top layer is solid oak, and the bottom bit is birch plywood. In order to interface the ‘caps with the switches, [Tauno Erik] designed and printed connector pieces that sit inside the extra large keycaps and accept the stems of the key switches. Speaking of switches, we’re not sure if [Tauno Erik] ended up using Cherry green switches, browns, or a mix of both (that would be interesting), but each one is mounted on a custom PCB along with a diode and a pull-up ...
Get this one»

Fractal Vise Holds Odd-Shaped Objects Tight

-
Image
A regular vice is great if you want to clamp rectangular objects, but it can fall down a little with more complex shapes. Inspired by an ancient vise [Chris Borge] whipped up his own 3D-printed fractal clamping tool . The inspiration for this one comes from the [Hand Tool Rescue] video that shows of the clever mechanism . The vice uses a series of interlocking parts that can freely articulate to grip the object of interest via several protruding fingers. In reproducing the design, [Chris] had some issues initially with the joints, but settling on a dovetail similar to that of the original metal vice which got things working nicely. [Chris] notes that while the design works, it could still use some refinement. Silicone or rubber tips on the fingers could give the vice better grip, and there remain some flexural issues that could be improved. Overall, however, it’s a useful table vice for small jobs on weird shaped things. We’ve seen 3D-printed vices before, particularly in the PCB vi...
Get this one»